This invention relates to pharmaceutical and neutraceutical compositions, in particular such compositions for treating skin viral injuries, e.g. such inflected by herpes or condyloma.
Herpes is a viral infection that causes painful sores (usually near the mouth or the genitals). There are several known pharmaceutical compositions for treating herpes, which usually make the sores disappear within a week. However, the sores come back from time to time, and when they disappear they leave a scar. In some patients the efficiency of a specific medication decreases when continuously used.
Condyloma is a painful viral callus of the genitals. Conventionally it is treated by surgery, but it often recurs thereafter.
Broad beans (also known as Fava beans) are known as food and as a source for lectins. Lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins of noninmune origin that agglutinate cells or precipitate proteins or lipids conjugated to oligo- or polysaccharides. U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,632 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,771 describe the use of lectins (optionally derived from broad bean) for contraception and as anti STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) agent.
According to the present invention it was found that extraction products of broad beans have a pharmaceutical activity, and are particularly active for the treatment of herpes and condyloma.
The term xe2x80x9ctreatmentxe2x80x9d as used herein should be understood as meaning both preventive and acute treatment. Acute treatment is the administration of the composition during the course of disease or during the course of appearance of symptoms associated therewith. A preventive treatment is a treatment given to an individual prior to occurrence of a disease or prior to appearance of symptoms associated therewith, in order to reduce the frequency of its occurrence, reduce its severity or reduce severity of the symptoms, A preventive treatment may also be a treatment to an individual after an acute disease phase in order to decrease the chance of the recurrence of the disease or reduce the severity of the disease or symptoms associated therewith.
Thus, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a pharmaceutical composition comprising, as an active ingredient, an effective amount of an extraction product of broad beans.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for treating of a disease or disorder, comprising administering to a subject in need an effective amount of extraction products of broad beans.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the invention there is provided use of an exaction product of broad beans, for the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition.
Still further provided by the invention is an extraction product of broad beans for use in the treatment of a disease or disorder in a subject or for the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition for use in such treatment.
Further provided by the invention is a process for the preparation of a pharmaceutically active ingredient, which comprises the steps of:
(i) providing broad bean;
(ii) roasting said broad bean;
(iii) grinding the roasted broad bean; and
(iv) steeping the ground roasted broad bean in an alcoholic solution.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is concerned with its treatment or prevention of herpes infection or condyloma sores. Typically, in accordance with this embodiment, but not exclusively, the active ingredient will be formulated as a topical composition, e.g. in the form of a gel, ointment, salve, solution, etc., to be applied onto skin portions where sores or infection wounds appear. In accordance with another embodiment, the active ingredient will be formulated in the form of an oral composition, particularly as a mouth-wash for treatment of a variety of viral diseases causing sores, wounds or lesions within the mouth.
The term xe2x80x9ceffective amountxe2x80x9d should be understood as meaning the amount of an active ingredient sufficient to yield a desired medicinal effect. The effective amount of the active ingredient may depend on the type of indication, the manner in which the active ingredient is formulated as well as on the dosage form. For example, in the case of topical formulation for the treatment of herpes or condyloma infections, the effective amount is an amount sufficient to give rise to reduction in the time period in which the wounds or sores are present, reduction in their severity, reduction in the probability of a recurring or de novo infection, etc.
As readily known, the effective amount may vary also depending on the individual""s age, gender, weight, other treatments to which the individual is subjected to, the stage of disease, etc.
It should be noted that the term xe2x80x9cpharnaceutical compositionxe2x80x9d should be construed in a broad sense and includes any composition which is intended for the purpose of achieving a therapeutic effect whether sold as a pharmaceutical product, for example carrying a label as to the intended indication, whether sold over the counter without any specific indication, or whether sold as a neutraceutical (neutraccuticals are at times also referred to in the art as xe2x80x9cfood additivesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cnutritional supplementsxe2x80x9d).
The extraction product may be obtained from the broad bean by a variety of extraction methods and the invention is not limited to the extraction method used. The pharmaceutically active ingredient in accordance with the invention may be obtained by roasting the broad beans, grinding the beans, steeping the ground solid matter in a polar and protic extracting liquid, typically an alcoholic solution, e.g. a solution of 70% ethanol in water. The alcoholic solution so obtained by then serve as the active ingredient as such. Alternatively, is Tact may be fractionated to obtain a pharmaceutically active fraction, such as, for example, by chromatography, e.g. high pressure liquid chromatography (BPLC), by phase separation technirques, etc. In addition, the alcoholic extract or fractionation product may be processed to obtain therefrom the active ingredient in a dry form, e.g. by lyophilization. Fractionation and drying techniques are all known per se and will not be elaborated further herein.
Any polar protic solvent may serve as an extracting liquid. In case water is used, it is preferable to cook the roasted broad beans in boiling water for about two hours and then to distill it. The distilled vapor is cooled to provide the active ingredient.
Preferably, the extracting liquid should be a pharmaceutical grade liquid. Particularly, if the solvent or fractions thereof will remain in the pharmaceutical composition which is intended for oral administration, the solvent should be such which is permitted for oral administration.
Although grinding is helpful to increase the efficiency of the extraction, the active ingredient may be obtained without it. In such a case longer periods of steeping, and, possibly, higher extraction temperatures may be needed in order to obtain the active ingredient in a similar concentration to that obtained after grinding.
The steeping is preferably for a period of about two weeks with daily shaking. It is preferable to separate the residue from the solution before using the solution.
A liquid extraction product containing the active ingredient may be used as such as already indicated above, or may be supplemented with varieties of excipients and carriers suitable for the intended mode of administration of the composition. For example, in the case of a topical composition, the liquid extraction product may be combined with gelling agents to yield a gel intended for topical application.
At times, the composition may also contain additional active or non-active ingredients. Non-limiting examples of such ingredients are a variety of plant extracts such as Echinacea, chamomile, mellisa calendula and propolis.